Panem's Time
by TimeLordHowl
Summary: The TARDIS crashes into Panem through a temporal rift and loses power, leaving the Doctor and Rose perfectly eligible for the Games. Rated T because, well, it's the Hunger Games.
1. Chapter 1

**The TARDIS, just after the events of The Christmas Invasion**

The Doctor grinned as he danced around the controls, pulling levers and pressing buttons. Rose Tyler watched, silently laughing.

"So, where are we going today?" she asked.

"How about Adipose One?" he suggested. "It's a nice place."

"Fine by me!" Rose responded.

"All right, Allon-sy!" he said, pulling another lever. Suddenly, the TARDIS started shaking.

"Is that good or bad?" Rose said nervously. The Doctor frowned, peering at the screen before being thrown backwards.

"I dunno what it's doing!" said the Doctor, putting on his glasses and grabbing the screen again. Then the TARDIS threw them more violently and both blacked out.

* * *

Rose slowly drifted into consciousness. When she finally pried her eyes open, the Doctor was on the floor nearby. But something else seemed off-his suit seemed baggy on him. What's more, her own clothes were hanging off of her! She looked in a mirror, and confirmed the worst-she had woken up in her fifteen-year-old body. She went back to her room on the TARDIS and started digging through a dresser for something that fit her when she heard the Doctor.

"Rose? Are you allright?" he asked. He sounded a lot younger than he did before. "What's wrong with my voice?"

Rose poked her head out of her bedroom. "Something strange just happened, Doctor!" She sounded younger herself.

He finally noticed his baggy suit. "Hwhat?" he managed, and ran towards the bathroom to look at himself in a mirror. Rose resumed her search, hearing more "Hwhat?"s from the Doctor, and found a small dress that had shrunk in the wash. She put it on. Well, it could be worse, she thought, before walking back outside.

The Doctor walked out of the bathroom, looking puzzled. "I think we just fell through some sort of temporal rift," he said. "But how did this happen?" He then walked off to the TARDIS wardrobe. Rose went back to the console room and looked at the screen.

"Doctor? It says we're on Earth!"


	2. Chapter 2

_The Doctor walked out of the bathroom, looking puzzled. "I think we just fell through some sort of temporal rift," he said. "But how did this happen?" He then walked off to the TARDIS wardrobe. Rose went back to the console room and looked at the screen._

_"Doctor? It says we're on Earth!"_

The Doctor ran back into the console room, and looked at the screen himself. "No," he whispered, "It can't be."

"What?" asked Rose. "What is it?"

"We're in Panem."

"Panem?"

The Doctor sighed. "It's the country that took over North America in this universe after a series of natural disasters. There was an uprising, and now…"

"Now what?" She looked at the Doctor's expression. "It's that bad?"

He nodded. "Panem won the uprising. Now every year they take a boy and a girl from each of the twelve districts and make them fight to the death until there's one left." He sucked in a breath. "And now we're perfectly eligible for it."

Rose looked at him. "Can't we just leave in the TARDIS?"

He shook his head. "Not enough power. The rift drained it."

"And we can't stay in the TARDIS."

He shook his head again. "We have to go out there," he said. "But first I should put on these trainers." He held up a pair of smaller red sneakers. Rose rolled her eyes and walked out the TARDIS door.

She stared at the sight before her. They were just outside a forest, and in front of her she could see some makeshift houses. Everybody looked poor.

The Doctor stepped up behind her. "District Twelve," he said sadly. "The poorest, most neglected district of the lot." Rose looked at him.

"Isn't there anything we can do?" she asked. The Doctor shook his head.

"We can't change this timeline," he said. "Too risky." Suddenly, a loud bell rang out. Some men in white uniforms and shiny helmets marched in one of the streets, leading a crowd of people.

"You two!" yelled one of them. "Don't just stand there! Get to the reaping!"

Rose and the Doctor looked at each other, then joined the stream of people.


	3. Chapter 3

_"We can't change this timeline," he said. "Too risky." Suddenly, a loud bell rang out. Some men in white uniforms and shiny helmets marched in one of the streets, leading a crowd of people._

_"You two!" yelled one of them. "Don't just stand there! Get to the reaping!"_

_Rose and the Doctor looked at each other, then joined the stream of people._

Rose squinted and peered above the crowd. "They're forming a line," she whispered.

"I don't know much about the Reaping," the Doctor whispered back, "but I don't think our name will show up in those reaping bowls on the stage. We should be safe."

Suddenly, a woman grabbed Rose's hand and held it up to a strange device. Rose winced as it drew a bit of blood. The woman scanned the bloody fingerprint on her paper. It beeped, and displayed "Rose Tyler, 15." She did the same for the Doctor, and it displayed "Johnathan Smith, 15."

"How do they know who we are?" whispered Rose.

"I dunno," replied the Doctor. Then they were split into separate groups, as the boys were separate from the girls.

A woman with very huge, curly blonde hair walked onto the stage. "Hello, and welcome to the reaping for the fifty-third Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favor. But first, we have a video brought specially from the Capitol."

It played, but Rose didn't really pay attention. She was looking around, trying to see how many kids were there.

Finally, it ended. "I just love that," said the woman. "Now, ladies first!" She reached into the packed bowl, and pulled out the slip.

Suddenly, a red-haired girl slipped in next to Rose. "Volunteer," she whispered. "The Doctor is going to be reaped." Rose turned and looked at her.

"Who are you?" Rose whispered.

"Amy." She slipped away before Rose could ask her anything else.

"Valentine Burns," said the woman. A terrified-looking twelve-year-old stepped out of the crowd, tears forming in her eyes. Rose couldn't take it.

"Stop!" she yelled. Everyone looked at her. "I volunteer!" She felt the Doctor's eyes boring into the back of her head, but she stepped out of her group and walked towards the stage.

"How exciting!" said the woman on the stage. "A volunteer! What's your name, sweetie?"

"Rose," she managed. "Rose Tyler."

"How brave you are," responded the woman. Rose looked out over the crowd, and saw the Doctor staring at her, confused and angry.

"Now for the boys!" the woman reached into the other bowl and pulled out a name. Rose thought she saw something of sadness in the woman's eyes, but she figured she was imagining it.

"Johnathan Smith."

Amy was right.


	4. Chapter 4

_"Now for the boys!" the woman reached into the other bowl and pulled out a name. Rose thought she saw something of sadness in the woman's eyes, but she figured she was imagining it._

_"Johnathan Smith."_

_Amy was right._

Rose fingered the velvet on the chair, wondering what was going to happen next. She was glad that she was with the Doctor in these games, at least. Then a red-haired girl walked in who Rose immediately recognized as Amy.

"How did you know that the Doctor was going to be picked?" asked Rose.

"It's a long story," said Amy. She handed Rose a pack of cookies, and the TARDIS key given to Rose. "You dropped your key on the way up to the stage."

Rose looked at Amy. "You're with the Doctor, aren't you."

Amy looked down. "Yeah, but not the Doctor you know."

"He regenerated?"

"Regenerated?"

"You know, change his look."

"Oh, that." Amy nodded. "Anyway. Try out archery. You might be good at it." She smiled, and slipped out the door, and Rose thought she saw a man in a tweed jacket wearing a red bowtie.

Well, his fashion sense changes with every regeneration, thought Rose, laughing inwardly.

Then the girl that Rose had volunteered for walked in, along with some other people that Rose assumed were her family.

"I-I just want to say-thank you for volunteering for me," stammered the girl.

Rose smiled sadly. "I didn't want someone that young to have to end up in the arena," she said.

The girl's eyes widened. "Nobody from twelve ever has any chance of winning," she said. "It doesn't matter how old you are."

Rose kept a straight face, even though inside she felt like curling up and making this go away. "Even so, you don't deserve to die."

The girl turned to her family. "Can I talk to her alone?"

As soon as they left, the girl looked more serious. "Listen. No matter what, try archery. It's your best chance."

Rose frowned. "Someone else-"

"Told you that," finished the girl. "Amy. She told me that this year the Capitol would be undermined, but only if I told you that. Good luck." Then, she left, leaving Rose with her mind in turmoil.


	5. Chapter 5

_As soon as they left, the girl looked more serious. "Listen. No matter what, try archery. It's your best chance."_

_Rose frowned. "Someone else-"_

_"Told you that," finished the girl. "Amy. She told me that this year the Capitol would be undermined, but only if I told you that. Good luck." Then, she left, leaving Rose with her mind in turmoil._

After Rose's conversation with the girl, some people who looked like soldiers escorted her to a train. Everything past that was a blur, up until right after dinner when she was in her bedroom.

The Doctor walked in, quietly closing the door behind him. "Rose," he began. "Why did you volunteer?"

Rose bit her lip. "I... I just..."

"Rose, these games are a fight to the death. Why?"

"There was this girl in the crowd named Amy. She told me that you were going to be picked, and she didn't call you 'John Smith' like the people on stage did, she called you the Doctor. I couldn't just watch you go through that - what if you died? I couldn't bear that," she said.

"If you knew that I was going to be picked, then the obvious thing to do would be to not volunteer. Only one person can win these games!"

Rose smiled slightly. "Only if we play by the rules," she said. "And you're not one to play by the rules."

The Doctor grinned in response. "You are right about that," he said. "But it's going to be hard, much harder than everything else we've done," he said seriously.

"Harder than the Gamestation?" she asked.

"Most likely, yes," he said grimly.

"We'll get out though," said Rose. "I just know it. We always get out."

**So sorry for the shortness of this chapter, everyone! Schoolwork has been taking over my life .**

**Anyway, please review! I appreciate constructive criticism!**


	6. Chapter 6

_"But it's going to be hard, much harder than everything else we've done," he said seriously._

_"Harder than the Gamestation?" she asked._

_"Most likely, yes," he said grimly._

_"We'll get out though," said Rose. "I just know it. We always get out."_

* * *

It had been two days since their exchange. Nothing happened in between, but now the train was pulling into a station in the Capitol.

In his bedroom, the Doctor bit his lip and held his head in his hands, wondering how he would make it through the upcoming weeks. In her bedroom, Rose looked out her window, thinking about all she had been told and trying to push down the fear that was slowly growing inside her. Dimly, she could hear a crowd roaring.

_Try archery._ She had never even seen a bow before, nor did she have the faintest idea of how to shoot one properly. It seemed like knife training would be a better idea. But Amy was from the Doctor's future, and the Doctor would have remembered what happened here. Then if archery really were her strength, he would know, and have told Amy to tell her. Rose decided to try it, just once, and if it went well she'd stick with it.

Meanwhile, the Doctor gritted his teeth as he heard the crowd. They were excited about watching all of these innocent kids _die_.

He massaged his temples. He wasn't going to come out of this emotionally intact. But then again, he really never did.

Back in Rose's room, Rose looked up as the door opened. It was the same woman as had drawn the names.

"We'll be deboarding soon," she said almost ecstatically. "And then it's the tribute parade! But we had better get ready with the other tribute from this district, John, was it?"

Rose nodded, and stood up. The woman held out her hand, and Rose hesitantly took it. They walked to the door of the train, and found the Doctor waiting for them by the door.

"You ready for this?" said the Doctor quietly, and he sounded upset about something. Rose nodded, and bit her lip. Then the door opened.


End file.
